Rory McIlroy looks to defend Truist Championship title at Philadelphia Cricket Club

The Truist Championship begins Thursday bringing of the world s best men s golfers to Philadelphia Cricket Club s Wissahickon curriculum for a million prize purse and a rare visit from golf s top professional tournaments Wednesday s pro-am was the lead-in to the four days of competitive play with chosen lucky amateurs Sixers point guard Kyle Lowry and former Eagles center Jason Kelce among them getting the chance to join the pros for nine holes of the subject Kelce was paired with Stephan Jager and Open Championship winner Shane Lowry which drew a crowd Former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce hits on the th hole during a pro-am before the Truist Championship golf tournament at the Philadelphia Cricket Club Wednesday May in Flourtown Pa AP Photo Matt Rourke Defending champion Rory McIlroy who became the sixth-ever participant to complete a major championship Grand Slam after winning the Masters last month was among the pros playing Wednesday The Truist will be his first individual tournament after the celebratory obligations that came with securing a Green Jacket The Northern Irishman announced he was looking forward to returning to a regular routine on the old-school class Philadelphia is one of the best places in the U S for golf McIlroy mentioned You know there s so plenty of great courses around here We re playing the PGA Championship at Aronimink next year We re playing the U S Open in at Merion There s a lot of great golf in this area Two-time PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas was full of praise for Philly s spectacular golf courses as well Obviously you don t want to be too vague and kind of group all of them together but to me it s just a different style and a different look of golf up here They all look so cool he commented I kind of think of it similar to Scotland or Ireland There s no bad golf courses it seems like you can play Jordan Spieth hits on the first hole during the pro-am at the Truist Championship golf tournament at the Philadelphia Cricket Club Wednesday May in Flourtown Pa AP Photo Matt Rourke Even so the Philly area isn t a regular stop for men s professional golf The last PGA Tour event was the BMW Championship at Aronimink in McIlroy reported he feels the northeast golf clubs are underrepresented but he and Thomas both acknowledged that the biggest issue the golf courses face is the logistics of their relatively modest ground sizes That reported the Truist is one of eight signature events on the PGA Tour calendar with a smaller field compared to the tour s regular tournaments The tournament also features no cut over its four days benefitting fans who want to watch their favorite players over four days and players who don t have to worry about an early departure and can bring along families Philadelphia Cricket Club was chosen to host the tournament last August The regular venue Charlotte s Quail Hollow Club will host this year s PGA Championship over Memorial Day weekend All the fan amenities were out Wednesday including local touches to pay homage to the location of this year s venue One of the Philly features on the Philadelphia Cricket Club s Wissahickon Program grounds for the PGA Tour Truist Championship Nick Kariuki Billy Penn It s not just going to be a PGA Tour event you re going to a Philadelphia PGA Tour event Joie Chitwood the tournament s executive director promised back in March The tournament has a local roster of vendors including Gazzos Steaks in Pottstown Chickie s Pete s Federal Donuts Chicken and Hangry Bear Creamery Beyond Kelce the person his brand was a presence on the program Wednesday too with items from his Underdog Apparel brand in the fan shop The grounds also featured a kids zone where sponsor Nemours Children s Wellness used putting greens and Wii Golf to help address whole child robustness the of youth fitness impacts that occur outside of a hospital I think that really is the true value of us being here declared Dr Alfred Atanda a pediatric orthopedic surgeon with Nemours We just can engage folks in a different way that s not so formal and rigid I guess in the typical doctor-patient relationship People try out the practice greens in the Nemours Children s Physical condition Kid s Zone at the Truist Championship Nick Kariuki Billy Penn Organizers estimate the tournament will deliver up to million in economic impact to the area along with an estimated million in charitable impact from local organizations as its legacy To that point the tournament donated to the Cobbs Creek Foundation which will help fund the historic class s revitalization and youth programs First Tee Philadelphia a youth improvement organization that teaches life skills to children and teenagers through accessible and affordable golf also received a equipment grant initiative as a signature partner of the tournament Whether this new influx of professional golf and its reciprocal benefits to the region leads to more consistent tournaments in the future remains to be seen When required defending PGA Championship winner Xander Schauffele disclosed it comes down to having a big territory excited golf fans and the right tournament sponsors Xander Schauffele hits on the seventh hole during a pro-am before the Truist Championship golf tournament at the Philadelphia Cricket Club Wednesday May in Flourtown Pa AP Photo Matt Rourke Schaufflele gave the region at least one of those three Philly has got chosen good fans they re into a lot of other sports and I ve heard there s a pretty good number of people coming out for this week he declared Hopefully the weather stays away and it s like nowadays that d be awesome I m sure the weekend if it stays like this it will be a good viewing and a good following So yeah if the fans and the locality help it then then we should be here Tickets are still on sale for each day of the tournament It s also available to watch on TV via the Golf Channel and NBC and streaming on Fubo Paramount and ESPN Disney The post Rory McIlroy looks to defend Truist Championship title at Philadelphia Cricket Club appeared first on Billy Penn at WHYY